#HobbyGamesRecce I reflect on the scant highlights of my 2025 and some feeble aspirations for my 2026 as related to the adventure gaming hobby, all hoping it might lead to something more significant on my gaming and job-search fronts.

Wargame Vault’s Winter Offensive sale puts all my wargame rules at 25% off until 10 a.m. EST Jan. 2. Skirmish Kids and Panzer Kids. Operation Drumbeat u-boat action. (And a few other titles.) Good ways parents can explore history with kids in the New Year. #GamesForLearning

My Panzer Kids rules are on sale 25% off until 10 a.m. EST Jan. 2. Just $5.99 for a basic set of #WW2 tank rules with add-on enhancements for a deeper tabletop #miniatures #wargame experience. Great for parents looking for a #HistoryGaming activity with the kids. Carpe ludum! #GamesForLearning

My wife set up the Dickensian birds of Beak House (and a few rats) on our front porch dressed in their festive yuletide finest. Happy Holidays everyone! #Holidays

#HobbyGamesRecce I take a look at Peter Dennis’ line of print-and-craft paper toy soldiers. They’ve served me well over the years with their various historical periods and versatility. This holiday season I’m reminded of the joyful playfulness they inspire. #wargames #GamesForLearning

Visited the #NASM Udvar-Hazy Center the other day and had to get a holiday photo with one of my favorite #WW2 aircraft, the F4U Corsair.

On this darkest day of the longest year I find some comfort that good people, good Americans, still exist, still care for others, still bring brightness and hope to our dark times. An inspiration for everyone. Happy Solstice.

This is the most essential, moving, and troubling message I've seen the entire holiday season. Ashamed that a majority of Americans voted for this despite many professing belief in the teachings of the one who's birth people celebrate this time of year.

#HobbGamesRecce #BrickHammerHobbies is the new #GameStore in our frontier #Virginia town, much closer than any of my other options...so I’m hoping to support it as I can with purchases and participation (where appropriate) to help it survive these challenging economic times. #FLGS

#HobbyGamesRecce After a busy weekend presenting my Battle of Great Bridge #wargame at the 250th re-enactment I revisited my thoughts about good beginner games for those seeking to explore the confluence of history, games, and learning...battlegames. #GamesForLearning #BattleOfGreatBridge

Set up my Battle of Great Bridge wargame demo at the 250th commemoration event hosted by the City of Chesapeake, VA, Dec. 6-7. Ran many games, met some wonderful people, used the board to outline the battle, and discussed exploring history through games. #GamesForLearning #BattleOfGreatBridge

Papercraft 15mm #miniature #wargaming soldiers ready to march off to the 250th Battle of Great Bridge event tomorrow...but snow will delay our departure by a few hours when the roads will hopefully clear up. #GamesForLearning #BattleOfGreatBridge

Braving the snow tomorrow to travel to attend the 250th commemoration of the Battle of Great Bridge Dec. 6-7 in Chesapeake, VA, where I’ll run history wargame demonstrations all weekend. If you’re in the area please stop by, say hello, and join a quick game. #GamesForLearning #BattleOfGreatBridge

#HobbyGamesRecce I offer some ideas for games one could give to folks who might not have immersed themselves so deeply in the adventure gaming hobby...enjoyable temptations inspired by my own experience and taste in games. #BoardGames #HolidayGifts

I felt very Ricardo Montalban yesterday. Inside I felt like Khan from Star Trek II. But outside I spent the day as Mr. Roarke from Fantasy Island. My mantra was “Smiles, everyone. Smiles.” I repeated it endlessly all day. Will continue all week. Hope folks had a happier American #Thanksgiving.

Unless, of course, your retreating for some much-needed respite, even at a seemingly appropriate time, is viewed as being "unwelcoming," "cold and distant," and a "bad host," for which you will be punished the rest of the holiday season...

These Women of #WW2 Resistance Kickstarter goodies arrived yesterday from @badsquiddogames.bsky.social. #AgentZo bookmark going in my copy of the book, with the other finding a place in a volume on French resistance. More awesome figures to base and paint!

Need a gift for a reader who likes the history of #women, #WW2, and/or #espionage? I highly recommend #AgentZo by @claremulley.bsky.social. Well-researched, engaging story of a Polish operative and her epic fight against Nazi occupation. The book just received yet another well-deserved honor.

Got the Fighters of Europe #wargame to the table tonight. My Luftwaffe Me109s wiped out the RAF Spitfires with only one loss, but it was a good learning game with my son. He’s now interested in playing more scenarios. Of course Hera the cat wanted to play...with all the pieces. #GamesForLearning

#HobbyGamesRecce Inspired by an old Osprey Illustrated Military Diary, I consider the possibility of running a historical #wargame each week, coinciding with a notable event one could explore through simulation...including event and game suggestions. #GamesForLearning #GamingThePast #HistoryGames

If you’re near north-central VA Dec. 6, 12-4 p.m... Fully armored knights battling it out in full contact sparring! Holiday-themed duels and team melees! Wine, Cider, Mead & Beer and hot spiced non-alcoholic cider! Photos with knights in armor! Family-friendly fun (kids highly encouraged!)

I’m considering volunteering as a judge for my son’s high school #DebateTeam for the local league tournaments. Anyone have any experience of this in the US they’re willing to share? I’ve looked at the NSDA website, but still waiting for info/guidance from my son’s coach.

How appropriate that today, Polish Independence Day, @badsquiddogames.bsky.social notifies me my #AgentZo figure is on its way to me in America. Can’t wait for her and a few other Women of #WW2 Resistance to arrive!

#HobbyGamesRecce It seems every #TTRPG gamer has a sourcebook in them, yet we often feel the need to get the latest “official” books for our favorite games. Expand your #TTRPG with your own “imagination sourcebook” to make that setting your own...or set off and create something wholly original.

Sheer brilliance. Because nothing sums up our current political/economic situation than the monstrously indifferent entities of the Cthulhu Mythos.

Just got back from our favorite local #winery, buying some #wine jellies for holiday gifts. Wonderful folks, comped my wife’s beer (first glass for furloughed Feds is on the house during the shutdown), host fantastic events, and support the community. They also ship wine to 37 states and DC....

Always love to hear about this radio broadcast and Americans’ reactions. Alas, the only Martians to invade around here were those on my wargaming table from the now-OOP minis game, All Quiet on the Martian Front, which I photographed years ago.... #OTD #ScienceFiction #wargames #HGWells

#HobbyGamesRecce Spent Saturday running my Battle of Great Bridge #wargame demo on the site where the Culpeper Minutemen mustered 250 years ago. Despite using my very basic game system for this event, I still considered numerous other rules one might use to replay the battle. #GamesForLearning

Wife’s friend has long flight for vacation, needs book suggestions. Wife: What was that book about the #WW2 woman you liked so much? Me: #AgentZo? Wife: Yeah. Didn’t you hear the author speak in DC at the Spy Museum? Me: Yes, @claremulley.bsky.social (spells name). Wife: Yes, that one. Thanks.

Finished Great Bridge #wargame board deployed...at the location where, 250 years ago, the Culpeper Minutemen mustered before setting off for Williamsburg and ultimately their crucial role at the Battle of Great Bridge. Spent the day talking about and gaming the battle. #GamesForLearning

Forgot to mention this piece features @gamingthepast.bsky.social (all the way at the end) and his “Cycle of Gameplay and Analysis” chart that reminds us of the relationship of learning, gameplay, and reflection.

Priorities.

WIP on my Battle of Great Bridge #wargame board. A few touch-ups and spray matte on the flocking and I’m ready to string up the grid. Photos of breastworks and bridge in place with Peter’s Paperboys British and Patriot militia. #GamesForLearning

#HobbyGamesRecce I review the repertoire of #miniature #wargames I’ve run at conventions and other public events over the years — suitable for entertaining and educating kids and newcomers — and offer a general invitation for institutions to play and learn. #GamingThePast #GamesForLearning

Flock this! WIP on my Battle of Great Bridge #wargame board. River/marsh glossed. Grass and sand flock on land drying. Big mess, but hoping it all works well with breastworks and (adequate) bridge. #GamesForLearning

WIP on my Battle of Great Bridge #wargame board. Surfaces base painted, spot foliage in place, road set down, painted, washed (awaiting drybrushing). Bridge base in place (more to come). Peter’s Paperboys redcoat unit on board for size. Next step: flocking land, glossing river/swamp.

WIP on my Battle of Great Bridge #wargame board. Wood frame with poster board on foam core, lots of polystyrene foam, plaster filler. Lord Rawdon’s period map included for reference, with a grid for the game and imposition on the board. Still lots of work to do before next weekend’s event.

Gotta love the #ColonialWilliamsburg Art Museums. As you enter, right near the main restrooms, you’ll find a display of period chamber pots.

While in #Williamsburg we ran some games at the #CallToArms #tabletop game convention, including a Skirmish Kids event, “A Slice of Belleau Wood,” with 54mm figures...like this German machine gun position (photographed by my son).

Spent the weekend in #Williamsburg VA. Visited the Governor’s Palace gardens at #ColonialWilliamsburg as part of our father-son weekend.

#HobbyGamesRecce My copy of Fighters of Europe arrived recently, perfect inspiration for exploring the #WW2 #BattleOfBritain from the “Watch, Read, Play” perspective, a means of enticing folks to explore history in media, books, and games. #wargames #GamesForLearning #GamingThePast

#HobbyGamesRecce I take a look at some of the historical #boardgames in my collection — games from history, not about it — and some related books. They’re common games available to everyone at some level, from across regions and cultures and time.

Trying to figure out what style of #chess pieces these are... Searching the internet hasn’t really helped.

CW: Nazis From a letter from Germany to friends in America, March 18, 1940: “It would be interesting to me to know if anyone over there has published an account of how things actually played out in Poland. I do not think, for example, that the Times or the Herald Tribune...” #WW2 #Poland 1/3

#HobbyGamesRecce In preparing for an upcoming game convention, I examine the risks I usually take, how I manage my anxiety beforehand, and a few strategies I rely on to better prepare for a positive outcome. #TTRPGs #Wargames

If #WW2 and #espionage interest you, don’t miss this amazing biography of determined and daring Polish resistance against Nazi oppression.

Finally got out to visit the Barnes & Noble in Fredericksburg, VA, this weekend; thrilled to see a host of new-to-me espionage books in the #WW2 section, along with some recently read favorites, engaging works by @soniapurnell.bsky.social and @claremulley.bsky.social. #AgentZo #WomanOfNoImportance

Dropped #DisneyPlus recently after re-assessing our media spending. Donated that money to local #PBS & #NPR stations; got access to #PBSPassport streaming service. Mysteries, news, kids shows, period dramas, documentaries...amazing shows. Find your PBS station here: www.pbs.org/stations/

#HobbyGamesRecce Playtesting the Battle of Great Bridge game I’m developing helped me make a few adjustments, but also confirmed that, as an abstraction, it simulates the factors central to the battle in a concise event demo experience for gaming newcomers. #History #GamesForLearning #Wargames

#HobbyGamesRecce Do we game more with friends or strangers? Which one do we prefer? Everyone has a different answer. It often depends on our opportunities for gaming, but also how well we navigate the challenges and joys each presents. #TTRPGs